


The Music of Our Life

by justme133



Category: IT (2017)
Genre: M/M, Reddie, eddie got really sassy at the end, ended up just a lot of story, mentions of benverly - Freeform, started as a musical thing, the loser's club are all there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-04-24 21:29:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14364066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justme133/pseuds/justme133
Summary: Every great relationship starts out with some sappy love song in the beginning, and in this case, the end.





	The Music of Our Life

**Author's Note:**

> This originally started out called 'Jessie's Guy' and was just going to be Richie's POV, and him singing. It kind of spiraled out of control though. I hope ya'll enjoy the way it turned out.
> 
> Songs used:  
> *Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield  
> *I'm Gonna Be - The Proclaimers  
> *I Wanna Dance With Somebody - Whitney Houston  
> *Together Forever - Rick Astley

It didn’t surprise any of the Losers when Beverly and Ben began dating - Bill had been happy for them, realizing when he hit his late teens (16 and 1//2, thank you very much!) that what he had felt for Bev wasn’t what he thought it was.

 

It didn’t surprise any of the other Losers when Eddie, who had just turned 17, told them all, in a hushed voice, that he was gay. Eddie had always been more fragile than his friends, so they welcomed him and didn’t treat him any different.

 

Except for maybe Richie. Maybe he wanted to be a little closer, maybe a little friendlier, a little more touchy...

 

But that all came to a halt when Eddie told them excitedly at lunch one day that he had been asked out by Jessie, another boy in their Senior class. Jessie was tall, broad-shouldered, with wavy hair and light eyes; he stood a good foot to almost a foot and a half over Eddie.

 

Richie, whose arm had been snug around Eddie’s shoulders, dropped immediately, his face becoming blank as his friends all congratulated the slighter teen next to him.

 

Eddie was going to go out with someone who looked like he belonged on the cover of a magazine, while Richie just… looked like him. He was taller than Eddie, sure, and he wasn’t _bad_ looking, but Eddie didn’t… didn’t notice.

 

So, Richie was a little bummed out to say the least. But hey, he still had Eddie in 4 classes that that jerkwad wasn’t it, and he still had him at lunch. He’d take what he could. And maybe someday… he could tell Eddie how he felt.

 

And for two months, Richie did still have Eddie, in a way - sure, he had to listen to him talk about how great his date had gone, how _nice_ this guy was, blah-blah-blah, but hey, he got to stare at Eddie’s face, so he could tune that part out.

 

Until he couldn’t. Eddie had been walking over to them, a too-large letterman jacket over his shoulders - _fucking Jessie_ is all Richie could think - why couldn’t Eddie wear his jacket? But then Richie looked at his jacket, the frayed edges, the pins and patches, the probably-mustard stain… okay, he wouldn’t put Eddie in this jacket even if he asked. Richie shook his head of his thoughts when he saw Eddie stop to talk to Jessie, who smiled at him and motioned at him to sit down.

 

**_No!_** Richie just thought as he saw Eddie look at them and shrug, mouthing a ‘sorry’ at his baffled friends. But he sat down next to him, and Jessie put an arm around him, pulling the slighter teen up against his side.

 

Richie left the cafeteria, his chair slamming down on the floor as he hustled out, his face red in anger. He got in his truck, a battered 1960-something thing his parents had found for him and he fixed up decently enough to get from point A to B. He started it, not noticing how Eddie was running out of the school to see if he was okay.

 

All Eddie saw was a plume of smoke blowing out of that death trap of Richie’s truck as he peeled away from the school.

 

…

 

When he got home, Richie tossed his backpack on the floor and turned his radio up as loud as he could.

 

And almost tossed the damn thing out of the window.

 

“ _You know I wish that I had Jessie’s Girl. Where can I find a woman like that?”_

 

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Richie muttered as the song played.

 

_“You know I feel so dirty when they start talking cute. I wanna tell her that love her, but the point is probably moot.”_

 

He fell on his bed, letting the boppy hit play in his head.

 

“ _And I’m looking in the mirror all the time, wondering what she don’t see in me. I’ve been funny and cool with the lines, ain’t that the way love supposed to be?”_

 

Richie got up, his head bobbing with the song now, before he started belting it out. Damn thing was catchy.

 

“ _Tell me! Where can i find a woman like that?”_ He air-guitared as it continued. “ _You know I wish I had Jessie’s Girl. I want Jessie’s Girl. Where can I find a woman like that?”_

 

As the song came to an end, he flopped back on his bed, thinking of how ironic it was.

 

He wanted Jessie’s Guy - and if Rick Springfield didn’t get his girl, how could Richie get his guy?

 

…

 

Richie didn’t go to school for two days, so Eddie let himself be driven by Jessie over to Richie’s house - which he figured was kind of stupid after he had been hit over the side of the head by Beverly, who hissed at him, ‘ _he fucking loves you you dumbass’_ , but he still wanted to check on him.

 

And how the hell was he supposed to know?!?

 

He was about to get out of the small slick car Jessie drove - quite a difference from Richie’s own truck that Eddie usually rode in, when Jessie spoke.

 

“Will you be my boyfriend?” Eddie turned slowly, looking at Jessie. All Eddie wanted was to check on Richie, he couldn’t do this right now.

 

He likes Jessie, he does - he takes him out on nice dates, makes him smile, buys him ice cream when he’s feeling bad. He wasn’t bad to look at either - with his light hair - blonde with a hint of brown and red in it, wavy and pushed back to show off his face. His light green eyes always shown out at Eddie with some type of happiness that he wasn’t sure if his eyes showed back.

 

How long had they been going out on dates? A month, two? He wasn’t sure - he just knew that the winter formal was coming up soon, and he was supposed to go with all his friends, and if he had a boyfriend, could he do that?

 

Bev and Ben did, sure, but they were part of the group.

 

Did he want a boyfriend, when he didn’t even know if Richie was okay?

 

‘ _He fucking loves you_ ’

 

“Um… That just… kinda came out of nowhere,” Eddie said, feeling his cheeks heat up. Jessie laughed a bit and raised a finger to trail over Eddie’s cheek, leaving a cold trail where the once hot skin had been.

 

“Sorry. I know you’re worried about your friend. I’ve just.. I’ve been wanting to ask you for a while and I didn’t know when would be good. This was obviously not it.”

 

“Jessie…” Eddie started, looking out the car window to see a curtain rustle in the house. “I need to check on Richie. We’ll talk when I get back,” he said, reaching for Jessie’s hand and giving it a squeeze before he got up and walked to the  front door, banging on it with his fist. “RICHARD ERICA TOZIER LET ME IN RIGHT NOW! OR I WILL SCALE THIS HOUSE AND PROBABLY BREAK MY DAMN ARM AGAIN JUST FOR YOUR DUMBASS.”

 

“My middle name is not Erica!” came a cry from the upstairs window, which Eddie didn’t realize was open. “And you can’t come in!”

 

“Why the fuck not?!”

 

“Because… I’m naked?”

 

“Richie let me in or I will tell the whole school your middle name is Erica!”

 

“Fuck you Eds!” Eddie grinned as he heard a thump from upstairs, and a small chain ladder was dropped from the window, which Eddie scaled expertly - how many times have they used ladders to climb into each other’s rooms?

 

When he dropped to his feet in the room, he found Richie sitting on his bed in ripped jeans and a faded shirt, his hair wild and unbrushed around his face, his radio playing low music.

 

“What do you want Eds?” Richie asked, staring at Eddie, which kind of took him back - there was no life behind Richie’s eyes, no jokes, nothing that made Richie, _Richie_.

 

_‘He fucking loves you’_

 

Bev’s words played his ears as he licked his lips - Richie’s eyes watched him, but he didn’t move.

 

“I just… wanted to make sure you were okay.”

 

“I’m dandy as a daisy,” he said, falling onto his bed, his hair flaring out behind him. “As dandy as candy.”

 

Richie’s radio began to play music again, and Eddie noticed that Richie’s hands tensed up.

 

_‘You know I wish I had Jessie’s Girl.’_

 

Ha, that was ironic. Eddie sat next to Richie and listened to the music before he fell back, laying next to Richie, who didn’t look at him.

 

“Richie?”  


“Yeah Eds.”

 

“What happened the other day?” Richie finally turned his head, and eyed him.

 

“You sat with that jerkwad instead of us.”

 

“Jessie isn’t a jerk-”

 

“Yeah he is Eds,” Richie said, cutting him off, his eyes boring into his. “He’s a jerk, who took you from me, from your friends, and you’re dating him!”

 

“I’m not… I mean, yeah we’ve been going out, but he’s not my…. Not my boyfriend.”

 

“He’s not?”

 

“No! He asked me… but I didn’t answer. I don’t know… how to answer.”

 

“I’ve missed you Eds. I… don’t wanna… share you,” he muttered, and Eddie smiled at him.

 

“You can’t hide me from the world.”

 

“What if I want to…?” Eddie looked at Richie, who was staring at him, and he thought about what Bev said.

 

Maybe things never seemed right with Jessie because he wasn’t the right guy… maybe it was….

 

Richie scooted forward a bit, his head tilting just enough… All Eddie had to do was scoot that way too…

 

And then there was a bang as the front door was shoved open by Richie’s parents.

 

And they pulled apart.

 

“I gotta go,” Eddie said, sitting up, his face flushed. “You’ll be back at school tomorrow?”

 

“Yeah Eds, I'll be there.” Eddie gave him one last glance before he was out the window and down the ladder once again.

 

….

 

When Eddie got home, not giving Jessie an answer, as he had no idea what to say - he dug through a box of junk in his closet, finding a rough-looking cassette. A mix tape Richie had made for him once. With his walkman headphones shoved over his ears, he began to play.

 

The first song on there, grainy and scratchy, makes his head ache.

 

_‘I’m gonna be the man who wakes up next to you.’_

 

“Hell,” he whispered, falling on his bed, listening to it.

 

_‘I would walk 500 miles, and I would walk 500 more, just to be the man to walk 1000 miles to fall down at your door.’_

 

He knew in his heart that this was something in this song for him to know. Why would Richie put this on there?

 

_‘Well I know I’m gonna be the man that comes back home to you.’_

 

He fell on his bed, replaying that song until he falls asleep.

 

…

 

Two weeks passed, and the winter formal was here. He didn’t talk to Jessie about their situation, and Eddie definitely didn’t talk to Richie about what was almost a kiss between them. So, as his mom brushed his hair into an immaculate side-comb look, he thought about what he could do.

 

When he got into the dance, he could see his friends at the snack table, heads bobbing to the music - Beverly in a blue dress with Ben in a shirt the same color - he watched her pull him out onto the dance floor, the two of them dancing weirdly across the floor. He made his way to Bill and Stan, who seemed to be arguing about something as Mike watched them. He noticed they all looked pretty well-put together; Bill in a bright yellow shirt, which surprisingly didn’t make him look like a popsicle as much as Eddie thought he would. Stan looked sharp in a cuffed black shirt and white tie, while Mike stood back in a nice button-down, smiling as Eddie approached.

 

“Well don’t you like nice,” he teased, and Eddie, still smaller than his large friend, elbowed him. He had managed to get out of the house without his mom getting him into an all pink suit - instead he wore a pink button-down cuffed shirt and a gray tie.

 

“Fuck off,” he muttered, eyes searching the group of dancing teens.

 

“He’s not here yet,” Stan said, and Eddie turned to his friends, all three of them watching him now.

 

“Who? What?”

 

“Richie. He’s not here.”

 

“I _was not_ looking for Trashmouth,” Eddie scoffed, making his friends laugh. He just flipped them off before he felt hands land on his shoulder.

 

“Come dance with me,” Jessie said, pulling Eddie with him onto the floor for a slow song. Eddie went along, because he did like Jessie, sure, but now it just felt… forced.

 

“Listen, Eddie,” Jessie started, as they swayed to something - Eddie wasn’t paying attention, because when Jessie turned him, he saw Richie standing with his friends, talking and laughing with them.

 

And Eddie wanted to be there too.

 

“I just… I like you. But I think you’d be better off with… someone who can give you what you want.”

 

Eddie turned, his face in shock as he looked at Jessie, who grinned at him.

 

“What?”

 

“Oh come on Eddie. I see the way you look at him. And don’t even get me started on the way he looks at you. I get it. It’s coolio.” Eddie stepped back, away from Jessie’s arms, who let him. “Besides, you’re too much of a neat-freak for me.” Eddie was going to be mad, until he noticed that Jessie was smirking at him.

 

“Jerkwad,” he muttered, pushing him some before he laughed and made his way towards his friends as music began to play, making couples get onto the floor - he watched as Beverly pulled the whole group minus Richie onto the floor, making them all dance in one big group.

 

_‘Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody, with somebody who loves me.’_

 

…

 

Richie saw Eddie walk towards him, a smile on his face, and Richie was sure that he was going to tell him how happy he was with Jessie.

 

‘ _With somebody who loves me.’_

 

“Let’s dance,” Eddie said instead, pulling Richie onto the floor with him as one of the most well-known love songs played around them.

 

They danced, and Richie only saw how Eddie looked at him.

 

_‘Oh, I wanna dance with somebody, I wanna feel the heat with somebody, yeah, I wanna dance with somebody, somebody who loves me.’_

 

Richie danced a little closer to him, and Eddie smiled that little Eddie smile of his that seemed to only be reserved for him. He couldn’t believe it.

 

Had…. had Eddie chose him over that jerkwad?

 

“Are you gonna keep staring at me or kiss me already?” Eddie asked, and Richie didn’t have to be told twice.

_‘I need a man who can take the chance on love that burns hot enough to last.’_

 

Richie kissed him, in the middle of the school dance floor, as some stupid love song played around them. They could hear their friends hollering at them, but they didn’t care.

 

When Richie pulled away, some Rick Astley song was playing, and he had a feeling that he would always think of Eddie when it heard it.

 

_‘We shouldn’t waste a single day, it’s destiny calling, a power I just can’t deny, I want you for the rest of my life’_

 

_…_

 

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own the songs used, they were just good 80's pop-love songs to use for the story. No copyright was intended for these or for the characters in the story.
> 
> Thank you for reading.


End file.
